1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to numerical benchmarks, and more specifically, to methods and systems for visualizing numerical benchmarks.
2. Description of Related Art
When conducting any type of business transaction today, it is important to understand what the general performance of a business is in relation to its industry. For example, Dun & Bradstreet, a business data provider, provides information that relates to the general performance of a business, including the fourteen “business ratios”. These ratios are known in the art of benchmarking as described below. Understanding this information in full can be a tedious process with the tools that are currently available.
Currently, this information is provided by Dun & Bradstreet in the form of a spreadsheet wherein there can be five columns of data, including the name of the business ratio, the business ratio, the industry upper quartile, the industry median and the industry lower quartile. In interpreting each business ratio, the business ratio would need to be compared to the industry lower quartile, the industry median and the industry upper quartile for each of the fourteen ratios. However, interpreting this information can be difficult and time consuming. Further, it can be difficult to visualize exactly what the general performance of the business, in light of these ratios, is in relation to its industry.
Additionally, for some of the business ratios, a higher value means a better performance, although, for some other business ratios, a lower value means a better performance. It is not always apparent for which of these ratios a lower value is preferable and for which values a higher value is preferable. Thus, there is a need for a system that provides for efficiently interpreting benchmarks.